Remote devices that are connected as part of an Ethernet network, for example, could possibly be misconfigured, such as with an incorrect IP address. As a result, the misconfigured remote device cannot be reached over the network and an administrator typically must drive to the remote location and plug-in a serial cable to the remote device and fix the configuration. This is known as the dreaded truck roll. Some known solutions allow a user or other repair technician to connect a modem to a serial cable at the device and use a separate network to make the configuration change. For example, the cellular radio network often is used in these instances to establish a connection and make any necessary configuration changes.
Although network devices can be misconfigured for a variety of reasons, configuring the wrong IP address in the network device is the most common error. In a typical situation confronted by an equipment supplier, a device such as a Multi-Service Access and Aggregation Platform (MSAP) could be located at a central office and connected to a remote gateway device or router as part of the same broadcast domain. An example of the MSAP is the TA5000 from ADTRAN, INC. and an example of the gateway device is a TA900 series device by ADTRAN, INC. The connection exists between the two devices along the same “wire.” The TA900 may be configured correctly in this example except perhaps for the IP address. The configuration may be close, but it is not accurate in all aspects and needs to be corrected. A frustrating thing for the network administrator is that communication with the device is possible, but the misconfiguration of the remote device is problematic.
A real-life example concerns an installer that has several TA900's as routers or gateway devices to install in one day at different locations. The installer quickly installs the devices in a busy day, but does not test them, or believes the installation of each is acceptable, but perhaps he has swapped two of them accidentally. The devices are configured correctly except for their IP addresses because of the swap. It is not feasible for the installer to drive back to the remote locations and configure IP addresses. It is desirable to configure the misconfigured TA900 (or similar remote device) without having to drive to the remote location in the dreaded truck roll, plug in a serial cable, and fix the configuration.